‘Not braggadocious, not swaggerdocious’: Moses Itauma on why he lets his fists do the talking

The 21-year-old British boxer has the chance to become the second youngest world heavyweight champion after Mike Tyson when he fights for the IBF crown this month

Moses Itauma was initially unmoved when hearing that his bout against Filip Hrgovic in London on 29 August had been upgraded to a fight for the vacant IBF world heavyweight title. “I didn’t really have any reaction,” Itauma said on Friday afternoon. “I was like, if I’m fighting Hrgovic and I’ve got the opportunity for it to be a world title, then yeah, chuck it on the line. I didn’t have any other feeling. I was taking Hrgovic serious – and, now the fight is for a world title, I’m still taking him serious. It’s still the same fight, innit?”

But the 21-year-old soon admitted that he is sharply aware of the fact that, should he beat his Croatian rival, he will become the second youngest fighter to become a world heavyweight champion. Mike Tyson made history when, aged 20 years and four months, he won the WBC title after a brutal second round stoppage of Trevor Berbick in November 1986.